Monday, December 13, 2010

As part of Improv Comedy on "Second Saturdays" at the Westport Coffeehouse Theatre.

FIRST at 6:30 p.m. (house opening at 6:00 p.m.)

THE TANKED SEVEN

The Trip Fives, Kansas City's best improv troupe and fans of beer, will share the stage with Boulevard brewer Jeremy Danner and beer enthusiasts Trish Berrong & Bob Dusin, for a night of drinking and improv.

House opens at 6:00 pm

Tickets are $10.00

Call 913-375-5168 for reservations.

THEN at 9:00 p.m. (House opening at 8:30 p.m.)

IMPROV THUNDERDOME

SEASON SEVEN, ROUND ONE

Named Kansas City's "Best Comedy Show" in 2008 by the Pitch.

Thunderdome pits nine teams of local improvisers against each other in a four month battle. Each team will get 30 minutes to prove their worthiness. Audiences will decide each month which team shall move on to the championship match.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Thunderdome pits nine teams of local improvisers against each other in a four month battle. Each team will get 30 minutes to prove their worthiness. Audiences will decide each month which team shall move on to the championship match.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

As part of Improv Comedy on "Second Saturdays" at the Westport Coffeehouse Theatre.

8:00 p.m. (House opening at 7:30 p.m.)

IMPROV THUNDERDOME

SEASON SIX, ROUND TWO

Named Kansas City's "Best Comedy Show" in 2008 by the Pitch.

Thunderdome pits nine teams of local improvisers against each other in a four month battle. Each team will get 30 minutes to prove their worthiness. Audiences will decide each month which team shall move on to the championship match.

For season six, we will again journey BEYOND Thunderdome. Local improvisers participated in a random draft to create nine teams of four. And then 9 coaches were randomly assigned to each team.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Improv Thunderdome arrives in nine days and you're nervous. How are you going to decide who to vote for? With this season being a draft season everything is mixed up. There are different coaches for each group. All the teams have casts that have never worked together before. You may even have different friends in different casts all competing on the same night! Well, all of us here at the T5s understand your feelings. Here are some methods to the voting madness that we have gathered to help you out:

Blind Support

This method is pretty straight forward and, once you sit down, it doesn't require a lot of effort on your part. The plan here is to vote for who you came to support. You aren't here to see anyone else. The best way to achieve this is to bring a distraction. This way you won't get swayed by another group. Headphones, some reading material, a head cold or even a baby would work as a proper distraction. A baby with a head cold and wearing a bib with the image of the person you support is probably best.

The Laugh Tally

This one comes from Rita Marks and is pretty ingenious and simple. Every time Rita laughs she marks down a tally. At voting time she simple picks the team with the greatest amounts of tallies. It's the beautiful marriage of science and improv comedy. You may even develop a system to award according to the degree of laugh you have. Like a half a mark for a giggle or two full ticks for a gut laugh. This method will require a writing utensil and a piece of paper or, a calculator watch. You might be able to get by with one of those.

The Format

This is for those who like form with their function. You want to laugh but you want it wrapped in a slick package. You need to look for the structure of the set as the show unfolds. Typically you'll find the format in what gets repeated in a set. You might see something as simple as a set of scenes dissolving into a monologue that will develop material for later scenes. Others may be more complicated and attempt to tell a narrative. You'll also find that the groups may use some different edits or ways to move between characters and scenes. Does the group have smooth transitions and is the format a tool the players are using in inventive ways? Jotting down words that mark what stood out in the set can work here. If a team tells you their name and then the name of their piece... get ready to watch their format.

The Rules

Maybe you are familiar with improv. If so, consider this option. You know some rules of improv. Perhaps you are an Improv Olympic guy. You have read Truth in Comedy and you "Yes, and" with yourself in the shower instead of singing songs. You understand the concept of "who, who, where". Because of this you constantly take mental note of the people and places involved in your daily conversations. Or, you are more of the Annoyance type. You want to see a team that has players with bold initiations or who play fearlessly. The groups that will get your vote take care of themselves onstage and take no prisoners. You may have even heard of "Viewpoints" or David Razowski. You want to see more emotional involvement and players who follow compulsion over anything else. If this method speaks to you, you'll focus what you think is the most important or difficult of your rules before each groups set. As they play think about how well they handle that aspect. After the show, make sure you have a beer with the casts. You are either an improv geek or too uptight. In either case, beer and improvisers may help. Or not, you could be too far gone to save.

You want to buy Ed Doris, host of Improv Thunderdome, a beer. Unfortunately you are broke.

Don't you fret. This one is very similar to the blind loyalty method. However, it is nobler since it will take more time and you are helping a good cause. You are the type that appreciates someone who knows what they do well and is not afraid to do it. This is why you want to buy Ed a beer. However, you are also broke. Do not fret. You just need to vote for Ed's team in both the preliminary match and the Finals. Then Ed can purchase a beer with the winnings he and his team collect from winning this summer's Thunderdome! You will have served both Thunderdome and your fellow man. I'm even sure if you told Ed that you were a number 5 type of voter at the finals after party he would let you have a sip of his beer.

Well there are just a few of the ways the T5s have found to vote. If you don't find something that soothes your pre-thunderdome jitters hopefully it gave you some ideas. Here's to seeing you on the 10th!

Monday, June 14, 2010

As part of Improv Comedy on "Second Saturdays" at the Westport Coffeehouse Theatre.

FIRST at 6:30 p.m. (house opening at 6:00 p.m.)

THE TRIP FIVES & LOADED DICE

The Trip Fives share the stage with the Bad Boys of improv comedy, Loaded Dice. And when we say share, we mean SHARE. Both troupes will be on stage for the entire 90 minutes. Mixing members in a variety of improv formats.

It's a safe bet for a good time.

Tickets are $10.00

Call 913-375-5168 for reservations.

THEN at 9:00 p.m. (House opening at 8:30 p.m.)

IMPROV THUNDERDOME

SEASON SIX, ROUND ONE

Named Kansas City's "Best Comedy Show" in 2008 by the Pitch.

Thunderdome pits nine teams of local improvisers against each other in a four month battle. Each team will get 30 minutes to prove their worthiness. Audiences will decide each month which team shall move on to the championship match.

For season six, we will again journey BEYOND Thunderdome. Local improvisers participated in a random draft to create nine teams of four. And then 9 coaches were randomly assigned to each team.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Thunderdome pits nine teams of local improvisers against each other in a four month battle. Each team will get 30 minutes to prove their worthiness. Audiences will decide each month which team shall move on to the championship match.

For season six, we will again journey BEYOND Thunderdome. Local improvisers participated in a random draft to create nine teams of four. And then 9 coaches were randomly assigned to each team.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Master improv teacher David Razowski mentioned during a workshop that theater was his sport. Actors were his athletes. I found myself identifying. When asked why we rehearse in order to improvise I make the comparison to America's favorite pastime baseball, though it could be argued that football has taken that title. The game of baseball is practiced even though there is no set plan for how the game will unfold. There are some set rules in improv, just as there are for baseball. There are foul lines, a certain number of strikes and outs (the number three is revered in improv just as it is in baseball). However, the fact is, no one knows how the ball will come off the bat. The players work on double plays, practice responding to bunts, yet there is no way of knowing what will happen when they take the field. The same is true for improvisation. Suggestions are our baseballs, lines of dialogue; our bats. Beats, points in the storyline, they often coincide with laughter, become our bases. Our dugout and bullpen is the backup line -- a line formed by improvisers not actively engaged in but, waiting to support the scene.

Some nights troupes perform like the Sox or the Yanks, and other nights they play like… well, the Royals. There is plenty of conversation out there about the unreliability of improv. How it is filled with people that want access to the stage; free from the discipline needed to hone characters or memorize dialogue and blocking. Others mock the trite, repetitive suggestions and guessing games that are breeding grounds for bad puns and bad charades. That is improv done without focus. It treats the art as a vehicle for jokes and wit, considers the audience an afterthought and delivers a one dimensional experience. I'm no fan of these experiences either. They have become the expected standard for too many performers and audience members. Fortunately I have seen much better shows.

I have witnessed actors whose characters hit home runs onstage. I've seen diving catches made from support out of the backup line and double plays turned as callbacks bring scenes to a close. Characters come to life; story lines arc, and scenes end in the audience's delight and laughter. Improv offers a unique fan experience; a chance to participate in a moment of creation. The audience is just as important of a member of the cast as any of the performers. They are the muse; they feed energy to the caste onstage. Improv at its best delivers the satisfaction of discovery and coming up in July there is plenty of satisfaction to go around; because July brings the return of KC's best comedy show.

Kansas City has spawned its own comedy league, Improv Thunderdome. Improv Thunderdome is a competition where the audience decides the winners. This season will be the second time that Thunderdome creator Jared Brustad institutes a draft. Last year this reshuffling of the improv scene in Kansas City provided some of the strongest group performances yet. Players had the opportunity to work with performers they had never worked with before and this led to some great discoveries. Groups such as last year's winner, "Your Mother Called" demonstrated this with a cast that jelled instantly, much to the audiences delight. If you missed them, you missed some of the best improv and one of the funniest performances in Kansas City so far. The draft highlighted one of the best aspects of Improv, collaboration. Just as one man cannot take the field and play baseball, Improv requires a group to work cohesively towards success. This year coaches were also drafted to hone the teams into elite comedic forces. Nine teams will be coached by some of KC's most experienced improvisers such as improv guru Trish Berrong (Spite, Tantrum), Jen Roser (The Trip Fives, Omega Directive) and Scott Connerly (Improv Abilities). Even Brustad is getting in on the fun and grabbing the managing spot on a team. There will be no funnier place to be than the Westport Coffee House theater this summer. Get your reservations early since this show is a consistent sellout, 913-375-5168.

Friday, April 16, 2010

As part of Improv Comedy on "Second Saturdays" at the Westport Coffeehouse Theatre.

8:00 p.m. (house opening at 7:30 p.m.)

THE TRIP FIVES & LOADED DICE

The Trip Fives once again share the stage with the Bad Boys of improv comedy, Loaded Dice.

Loaded Dice will start the bidding with their very own 25 minutes set.Next both troupes raise the stakes by working together with a variation of scenes and monologues.Then, after intermission, the Trip Fives will go all in and take home the pot.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

As part of Improv Comedy on "Second Saturdays" at the Westport Coffeehouse Theatre.

FIRST at 6:30 p.m. (house opening at 6:00 p.m.)

BARE TV: THE IMPROVISED TALK SHOW

The cast will take one audience suggestion and create an improvised late-night talkshow, complete with host monologues, guests and live music. Prior to the actual show, performers/writers will develop characters in front of the studio audience.

Thunderdome pits nine teams of local improvisers against each other in a four month battle. Each team will get 30 minutes to prove their worthiness. Audiences will decide each month which team shall move on to the championship match.

Thunderdome pits nine teams of local improvisers against each other in a four month battle. Each team will get 30 minutes to prove their worthiness. Audiences will decide each month which team shall move on to the championship match.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

As part of Improv Comedy on "Second Saturdays" at the Westport Coffeehouse Theatre.

FIRST at 6:30 p.m. (house opening at 6:00 p.m.)

BARE TV: THE IMPROVISED TALK SHOW

The cast will take one audience suggestion and create an improvised late-night talkshow, complete with host monologues, guests and live music. Prior to the actual show, performers/writers will develop characters in front of the studio audience.

Thunderdome pits nine teams of local improvisers against each other in a four month battle. Each team will get 30 minutes to prove their worthiness. Audiences will decide each month which team shall move on to the championship match.